A non-creedal missional community in a progressive ecumenical universalist christian way, 5920 N. Owasso Ave, Turley, OK 74126 918-691-3223, 794-4637, 430-1150. Service. Community. Discipleship. Worship. All are Welcome. See below or Write to revronrobinson@aol.com for the latest gatherings. We often worship with others on Sunday. We hope you respond to the call to service to and with others in an Abandoned Place of the American Dream Marketplace Empire.

Soon it will be the season of Christmas. Already though its
spirit of surprising love, abundance, peace, joy, and hope have been felt here
in our area. Thanks for letting us share them with you. Our wish is that these
reports bring you as much goodwill as you all have brought to us.

We call this area of North Tulsa and Turley at this time of
year especially a "new Nazareth." Scriptures report that people
believed that the village of Nazareth had such a bad reputation that
"nothing good could come from it." At the time 2000 years ago,
Nazareth was little known and little regarded. Just a few miles away stood the
bigger, shining new city of Sepphoris, a kind of suburban sprawl built by and
for the economy of the Roman Empire, taking up land that had sustained the
poor, displacing people. Nazareth was even moreso then a place for the left
out, the left behind, the decidedly uncool people. And yet, today, so few have
ever heard of Sepphoris, while Nazareth, well Nazareth is known the world over
for the good that came from it, and that keeps coming.

The New Nazareth: All you have to do, anytime there is a
story about any sort of crime, and in fact a story even about any sort of new
development or plans or groundbreaking, here on the northside of Tulsa, is to
go to the Tulsa World online and read the comments left by people to the story.
The refrain is the same; people get what they deserve because they are there,
meaning here, and if they were smart they would leave, and no one would ever or
should ever move there, and nothing good will last because our neighbors won't
let it, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with the lack of resources and the
history of segregation and neglect and decisions made by people who leave
elsewhere breaking apart the social communities, it is all about people making
bad choices they and their children even should be punished for. We hear this
all the time from people who have grown up and spent many adult years in the
Tulsa area without ever coming to this area, and how afraid they are when they
do, and how others warn them not to. It is not that we don't have struggles and
problems of crime, and bad choices so often driven by so many addictions, and
lord knows it is so much easier to get people to respond based on fear of
something or someone than to get them to respond out of a desire and belief
that they can make this part of the world, and their lives, better.

And yet, just a few days ago, we held a party here, threw
open our doors for anyone to come, had no security guards, and had no idea how
many would come celebrate Christmas with our small group; the past few years in
our old community center space just a half mile north of us now, we had had a
good time with about 20-30 people from the area, most of whom we knew. But this
year, in our new and still emerging community center space, without still being
able to afford much attractive signage on the outside to let people know what
this big building is being used for, our Christmas Party had some 125 people, a
majority of whom hadn't been here before, or only for our Halloween Party when
we had 300 people show up, and no security guards then either, and no violence
then either. We fed people with Christmas tamales and pizza from businesses
right here, and from what we and another church provided; we brought and got
gifts to hand out and in a fishes and loaves moment kept finding gifts to give
out to all the children who came; and we sang as a community christmas songs
and hymns, these voices of people who hadn't sung together before, and might
not have another opportunity to sing with others this season.

And yet, here in the new Nazareth, at that party, a little
girl said, to no one in particular, as she was moved by the spirit of the
moment of community, "This is the best night of my life." Think about
that. It was both a moment of great wonder; like an angel proclaiming in a
night full of danger and oppression and isolation "Be Not Afraid for I
bring you great tidings..." And it was heart breaking too. She had not had
this experience before, so many people gathering in peace, joy, hope, and love.
She probably, if she is like so many we live with here, a few in her family and
perhaps estranged from other family, so no extended family expereinces, no
church expereince, no means to go outside the area much if at all; the lights
of Christmas, the excess and abundance of Christmas, the story of Christmas
itself, mostly comes to her through the screen of a television, which both
connects her to a greater world and accentuates her own isolation and
disconnect from it. Her family has had to choose between keeping utilities on
and having food and having gifts; we make it just a bit more bearable by
helping with the food and gifts so they can spend on the utilities, though
skimping on all of it.

And yet, here we were all for her, celebrating, blessing our
meal and running out of it and getting more of it and all saying Amen, and
people making connections for the first time, and hearing about all we have
been doing and will be doing, people impromptu volunteering to help us at the
food pantry this past week even as they come to get their own food in what has
been our busiest ever week; we have run out of turkeys from the food bank and
have had to purchase more on our own to meet the need; and this week in another
amazing event the children in our neighborhood school, Horace Greeley
Elementary School, who are all on free lunch programs themselves, they and
their families filled up 15 boxes of food in the month of Nov. and Dec. and on
the last day of school contributed it to our food pantry, which many of them
use. And yet that night, and this month has all been very ordinary; it has
taken so little effort, really, on our part; so few people have created it; no
one has been stressed out or worried about its outcome; no one has tried to
control it and shut it down out of fear of what might happen, or what might not
happen, not have enough, or get this or that wrong.

And yet, though most of our commercial and public district
is dark at night even in this season, we have lighted up our building, and we
have even lighted up the historic memorial arch and evergreen tree in the
courtyard of Cherokee School that has been closed since we finished our summer
daily free lunch there. These few lights are what that little girl sees though
with her own eyes, not through a screen, and I believe they mean more than all
the bright lights on the other side of town, because they are here where she
lives.

And yet, I like to think of what has been experienced here
in the past few weeks (including the worship and discussions and movies and
common meals we have on a regular basis in the missional community gatherings
and with our Advent Vespers too) all as a truly living nativity scene. Not one
that has people dressing up to look like the manger scene, as wonderful as
those are; Not a pageant either; but a truly living embodied nativity scene,
for at our Christmas Party, at our overflowing food pantry experiences, at the
Greeley school food drive for us, Christ was born again.

That is what Christmas is about, especially here; it is
about creating "And yet" moments, an "And yet" world. The
world was ruled in terror; the rich kept getting richer and the poor kept
growing in number and kept getting poorer with fewer places to turn to for
help; the land was being used up; the religious authorities were becoming
servants of the Empire; technology was improving and the spirits of people were
declining; the prophets were getting their heads cut off and more were jailed,
more silenced, more made refugees. And yet, a baby was born...at the same time,
then as now, that babies thousand times over in numbers die, are killed, and
yet a baby was born...and in that fragile, vulnerable particular event, is all
of divinity and eternity, the spark of possibility that not only is another
world possible, but in that birth another world has been started, all in order
to remind us that it is such abandoned, fragile, vulnerable, and very ordinary
particular people and places and events that we are to go in search of the
Sacred.

"This is the best night of my life." I hope,
truly, that our Christmas Party, our place, ourselves, all become a fading
memory for that little girl here. I hope another world embraces her and she has
so many other better best nights of her life that this one will be lost to her.
I hope that other world happens right here too, and that she is nurtured here
and able to grow and give back to others all right here, instead of having to
flee to Sepphoris. Mostly, I hope we are able to continue creating such
nativity events for others like her in many more ways, places, and times around
our community here. For all that, go to www.turleyok.blogspot.com and
read all we have done and are doing through our community foundation work; this
letter has been about the spiritual center that is the hub for all the spokes
of the other work, though you can at the link above easily make a donation and
be a part of our community here where such a little amount makes such a big
difference.

Finally, here is some of the news of the ways we gather:

Saturday, Dec. 24, 5 pm join us at the Turley United
Methodist Church for a Christmas Eve candlelight service, at 6050 N. Johnstown
Ave. across from our Welcome Table KitchenGardenPark and Orchard.

Sunday, Dec. 25, 9:30 am join us for Christmas Morning
Worship of our own Lessons and Carols and Communion Service and Meal here at
5920 N. Owasso Ave. We will take a break from our Justice for the Poor video
series and resume it on Jan. 1.

Saturday Dec. 31 beginning at 9 pm we will have a New Years
Eve Watch Party here, games, watching the movie Ghandi to bring in a new year
of peace and resistance to Empire, with refreshments, black eyed peas and more.

Sunday, Jan. 1 New Years Day worship, 9:30 am to 1 pm our
usual gathering for video series from Sojourners, communion and meal and
service.

Thursday, Jan. 5, our Future of Turley planning group here
at 3:30 pm, and at 5:30 pm at O'Brien Park, 6147 N. Birmingham Ave., we will
join the Advisory Board to welcome at a reception our new activities director
there.

More to come in the New Years Letter....till then, live
justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God, and pay attention to the many
ways Christ is being born in, among, and beyond you, remembering that
Christmastide begins, not ends, Dec. 25 so keep it in your heart, share it and
celebrate it throughout the 12 days; to help in that go visit www.uuchristian.org
and go to the Christmas links there on the home page, and keep checking back
for the gifts of Christmas there; and pause to reflect on how Christmas is not
your birthday (even those of you born on Dec. 25 lol) but is the birthday of
the one whose wish list is to bring good news to the poor.

On this blessed day
let us worship at the altar of joy, for to miss the joy of Christmas is to miss
its holiest secret. Let us enter into the spiritual delights which are the
natural heritage of child-like hearts.
3 Let us withdraw from the cold and barren world of prosaic fact if only for a
season.
That we may warm ourselves by the fireside of fancy, and take counsel of the
wisdom of poetry and legend.
Blessed are they who have vision enough to behold a guiding star in the dark
mystery which girdles the earth;
Blessed are they who have imagination enough to detect
the music of celestial voices in the midnight hours of life.
Blessed are they who have faith enough to contemplate a world of peace and
justice in the midst of present wrongs and strife.
Blessed are they who have greatness enough to become at times as a little
child.
Blessed are they who have zest enough to take delight in simple things;
Blessed are they who have wisdom enough to know that the kingdom of heaven is
very close at hand, and that all may enter in who have eyes to see and ears to
hear and hearts to understand."O
COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL"O
Come, all ye faithful, Joyful and triumphant
O Come ye, O come ye, to Bethlehem,
Come and behold him, Born the King of angels
O Come, let us adore him, O come let us adore him,
O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord.

LIGHTING THE ADVENT
& CHRIST CANDLEIn
Advent season each week we have pointed the way to Christmas. Peace, Joy, Love,
and Hope, these are the touchstones in our journey preparing our hearts for
this holy night when we begin again in the spirit of the Child. And so we come
to Christmas once again, as have those before us through the centuries, the
mighty cloud of witnesses who have lighted our way with their lives of faith,
hope and unconditional love. May the lights we burn tonight warm us with memories of their inspiration
and their aspirations.
In miracle and mystery, Jesus was born, light shining in the darkness. In
miracle and mystery, all are born, new lights of life full of hope.

May our lives be the
Light of this Good News.
Peace and joy and hope and love---which never come easy and are easily lost—all
come together in the liberating spirit of God. May God’s light heal our lives and world.

And may this light,
on this special night of birth, remind us that to be in the spirit of Christmas
we must be where peace needs to be born,Where joy needs to be sung,
Where hope needs to be found,And where love needs to be shared.We light
these candles once again in this Season which reminds us how to live most fully
all our days.

We light these
candles to proclaim the coming of the light of God into the world.With the
coming of this light let there be peace. Blessed are the peacemakers.
With the coming of this light let there be joy. Blessed are those who mourn
and who suffer in this special time, that their hearts be lifted. With the
coming of this light let there be love. Such great love helps us to love God
and one another, especially our enemies. With the coming of this light let
there be hope, that goodness will prevail in our lives and world, that
oppression will end, that what unites us is stronger than what divides us, that
we will find our way in the light of God and fear not.

With the coming of
this light let there be born once again the simple transforming freedom the
Christ Child brings to the world, through which the light of God shines in all,
that we may be God’s people every day, and care for one another and for all of
God’s Creation, with our hearts, minds, souls, and our hands.

We light these candles
to proclaim the coming of the light of God into the world.

PRAYERO God,
who hast brought us again to the glad season when we remember the birth of
Jesus, grant that his spirit may be born anew in us. Open our ears that we may
hear the angel songs, open our lips that we may sing with hearts uplifted,
Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward all. Amen.
(King's Chapel Book of Common Prayer)

FIRST LESSON: Luke
2:1-7

In those days a
decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.2This was the first registration
and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.3All went to their own towns to
be registered.4Joseph
also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David
called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David.5He went to be registered with
Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child.6While they were there, the time
came for her to deliver her child.7And
she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid
him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

"AWAY IN A
MANGER"Away
in a manger, no crib for his bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;
The stars in the sky looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep in the hay.

The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes
I love thee, Lord Jesus! Look down from the sky,
And stay by my cradle, till morning is nighSECOND
LESSON: Luke 2: 8-12

8In that region there
were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.9Then
an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around
them, and they were terrified.10But the angel said to them, “Do not
be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:11to
you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the
Lord.12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in
bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”

"THE FIRST
NOWELL"The
first Nowell, the angels did say,
was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep
On a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the king of Israel.Third
Lesson: Luke 2: 13-20

And suddenly there
was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,14“Glory
to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”15When
the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us.”16So they went with haste and
found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger.17When they
saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child;18and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.19But
Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.20The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen, as it had been told them."ANGELS
WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH"Angels
we have heard on high sweetly singing o'er the plains
and the mountains in reply echoing their joyous strain
Gloria, In excelsis Deo; Gloria, In Excelsis Deo.

Shepherds why this jubilee? Why these songs of happy cheer?
What great brightness did you see? What glad tidings did you hear?
Gloria, In Excelsis Deo; Gloria, In Excelsis Deo.

Come to Bethlehem and see, Him whose birth the angels sing
Come adore on bended knee, Christ, the Lord, the newborn King.
Gloria, In Excelsis Deo. Gloria, In Excelsis Deo.PRAYER
OF PEACE AND JUSTICE"The
Work of Christmas" by Howard Thurman

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the Kings and Princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their
flocks,

The work of Christmas begins.

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry

To release the prisoner,

To teach the nations,

To bring Christ to all,

To make music in the heart.

PASTORAL PRAYERS

After each prayer is
mentioned, say in unison: O Light that shines in our darkness:come and free us with your love.

"IT CAME UPON A
MIDNIGHT CLEAR"It
came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old
From angels bending near the earth to touch their harps of gold
Peace on the earth, good-will to all, From heaven's all gracious King.
The world in solemn stillness lay, to hear the angels sing.

But with the woes of sin and strife the world has suffered long
Beneath the angel strain have rolled Two thousand years of wrong
And man, at war with man, hears not, The love song which they bring
O hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing.READING

“Emmanuel” by
Frederick Buechner

Christmas is not just Mr. Pickwick dancing a reel with the old lady at
Dingley Dell or Scrooge waking up the next morning a changed man. It is not
just the spirit of giving abroad in the land with a white beard and reindeer.
It is not just the most famous birthday of them all and not just the annual
reaffirmation of Peace on Earth that it is often reduced to so that people of
many faiths or no faith can exchange Christmas cards without a qualm.

On the contrary, if you do not hear in the message of Christmas something that
must strike some as blasphemy and others as sheer fantasy, the chances are you
have not heard the message for what it is. Emmanuel is the message in a
nutshell. Emmanuel, which is Hebrew for "God with us." That's where
the problem lies.

The claim that Christianity makes for Christmas is that at a particular time
and place "the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity" came to be
with us himself. When Quirinius was governor of Syria, in a town called
Bethlehem, a child was born who, beyond the power of anyone to account for, was
the high and lofty One made low and helpless. The One whom none can look upon
and live is delivered in a stable under the soft, indifferent gaze of cattle.
The Father of all mercies puts himself at our mercy. Year after year the
ancient tale of what happened is told raw, preposterous, holy and year after
year the world in some measure stops to listen.

The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. A dream as
old as time. If it is true, it is the chief of all truths. If it is not true,
it is of all truths the one that people would most have be true if they could
make it so.

Maybe it is that longing to have it be true that is at the bottom even of the
whole vast Christmas industry the tons of cards and presents and fancy food,
the plastic figures kneeling on the floodlit lawns of poorly attended churches.
The world speaks of holy things in the only language it knows, which is a
worldly language.

Emmanuel. We all must decide for ourselves whether it is true. Certainly the
grounds on which to dismiss it are not hard to find. Christmas is
commercialism. It is a pain in the neck. It is sentimentality.

It is wishful thinking. The shepherds. The star. The three wise men. Make
believe.

Yet it is never as easy to get rid of as all this makes it sound. To dismiss
Christmas is for most of us to dismiss part of ourselves. It is to dismiss one
of the most fragile yet enduring visions of our own childhood and of the child
that continues to exist in all of us. The sense of mystery and wonderment. The
sense that on this one day each year two plus two adds up not to four but to a
million.

What keeps the wild hope of Christmas alive year after year in a world
notorious for dashing all hopes is the haunting dream that the child who was
born that day may yet be born again even in us.

Emmanuel. Emmanuel.

"O LITTLE TOWN
OF BETHLEHEM"O
little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given
So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven
No ear may hear his coming, but in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.COMMUNION
RESPONSEWe lift
up our hearts in God for the gifts of Life given for all.Thanks be to God.

As Christmas reminds
us of how the Divine came into the world in one so small, young, and fragile,
so the Gifts of Life Abundant are in the ordinary made extraordinary, in the
bread of the earth and the juice of the grape becoming food of the Spirit,
incarnations of the Sacred.Thanks be to God.
As Christmas calls us to be mindful of all those in need, all without a room,
all with grief and fear, and to work for a world more just, so may this token
of our daily bread, and this token of our cup of forgiveness which quenches the
thirst of the soul, call us to go feed others.Thanks be to God.
As Christmas offers us peace and light in times of darkness, may the sacred
offering of this small meal, one to another, inspire us to acts of
lovingkindness, all in the Spirit of the One born upon this night who showed us
faithfulness without fear, preparing a welcome table for all.Thanks be to God.

And so we join
together in saying the prayer Jesus taught to those who would follow in his
radically inclusive hospitable and justice-seeking way of the Spirit. Our
Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be
done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and
forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the
power, and the glory, forever, and ever. Amen.

BREAD
OF LIFE, CUP OF HOPE

All are worthy and
all are welcome in this free and open communion. We follow the practice of
intinction, or dipping of the bread into the cup before eating.

May we remember that
in our times of hunger and brokenness, of sadness even in holiday season, that
God provides wholeness and abundant gifts of Creation all around us, among us,
and within us all, more than enough to share with others. There is always
enough of what all need if we all share and take no more than we need. That is
the way it is in God’s inn, God’s welcome table, open to all regardless of who
they are, what they believed, especially for those who are suffering, and
oppressed. Come let us celebrate at the table the birth of the one who would
make table gatherings in the midst of strangers and enemies, in the abandoned
places of the Empire, reminding all there of God‘s healing presence.

SHARING
CANDLELIGHT FROM THE CHRIST CANDLE"SILENT
NIGHT"Silent
night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin mother and child, Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace, sleep in heavenly peace.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

The Welcome TableA Free
Universalist Christian Missional Community Following the
radical Jesus in deeds not creeds. Join us in service to our community
throughout the week. Our Welcome Table of Worship is open to all who welcome
all, regardless of belief or denomination, race, gender, sexual orientation,
age, physical abilities, economic status, or political affiliations. We don’t
think Jesus would have it any other way.

Free because we
are non-creedal. We don’t give theological tests for admission, but encourage
you to test us and try us to see if this way is for you. Universalist because
we believe God is Love and All who abide in Love abide in God for all time (1
John 4:16). Christian because the generous compassionate way and story of
Jesus, while not exclusively so, is our primary pathway opening up to God.
Missional because we are sent to serve others more than ourselves. Community
because we are made not to be autonomous individuals but to be a people of God.

InvocationToday is the day which God has made: Let us rejoice and be glad therein.What does the
Eternal require of us? To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.

Chalice Lighting
CovenantThis is our covenant as we walk together in life as a people of God
striving to make Jesus visible in the world: In the light of truth, and the loving and liberating spirit of
Jesus, we gather in freedom, to worship God, and serve all.

Fourth Sunday of
Advent: The Candle of Hope

Scripture: Luke 1: 26-38

26In the sixth month
the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,27to
a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The
virgin’s name was Mary.28And he came to her and said, “Greetings,
favored one! The Lord is with you.”29But she was much perplexed by
his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.30The
angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.31And
now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him
Jesus.32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most
High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.33He
will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no
end.”34Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a
virgin?”35The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon
you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to
be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.36And now, your
relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the
sixth month for her who was said to be barren.37For nothing will be
impossible with God.”38Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of
the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed
from her.

Lighting The Advent Candles For Peace, Joy, Love, and Hope

One: The Gospel of John
speaks of Christ as the light coming into the world. In commemoration of that coming,
we light candles for the four weeks leading to Christmas and reflect on the
coming of Christ. Christ is coming. Christ is always coming, always entering a
troubled world, a wounded heart. And so we light candles of peace, joy, love,
and hope as the markers along our way in this season of Advent leading toward
the manger in Bethlehem and the renewal of our spirit in the coming of
Christmas. All: Loving God,
as we move through the days and weeks of this Advent season, We open all the
dark places in our lives and memories to God’s healing light. Show us your
creative power. Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you, That we may walk
in the light of Christ always coming into the world.

One: The light of
peace, may it guide us through our hurts, away from violence, grounded in
justice and compassion, knowing that the deepest peace comes not from goods for
the self but from The Common Good. All: Blessed are the peacemakers. Halleluia. One: The light of joy, may it surprise us with the
spirit of wonder and new creation, and may we find it in the simple things of
the Spirit all around us. All: We Rejoice in the Spirit of the Lord, that
brings sight to the blind and healing to the wounded, freedom to the captives,
liberation to the oppressed, justice to the poor, Halleluia. One: The light
of love, may it open our hearts and hands to the plights of others, reminding
us of the love of God for us unconditionally, renewing our lives, bringing all
together in the oneness of God. All: God is Love and all who abide in Love
abide in God. Halleluia. One: The light of hope, that even when we do not
feel the spirit of the season, even when God seems far removed from this world
and peace and justice and joy and love seem empty words, when fear is all
around and our own actions and thoughts have closed the door to the inn
shutting ourselves off from others and they from us, may this light of hope
still shine, and with every flicker grow stronger with the faith that God is
still present, still speaking, still giving birth to that which may save us
all. All: In peace, in joy, in love, and in hope, we pause and ponder and
pass on to others the ways of God. Halleluia.

Morning Songs of Hope and Advent: #95, There Is More Love Somewhere; #346,
Come Sing A Song With Me; #241 In the Bleak Midwinter; #244 It Came Upon The
Midnight Clear

Prayer of Confession:

Gracious and Loving God, we acknowledge to
you, to one another, and to ourselves that we are not what you have called us
to be. We have stifled our
gifts and wasted our time. We have avoided opportunities to
offer kindness, but have been quick to take offense. We have pretended that we
could make no contribution to peace and justice in our world and have excused
ourselves from risk-taking in our own community. Have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and help us to live our
lives renewed in your Spirit. We long for peace within and
without, for harmony in our families, for the well-being of our neighbors, and help
us to love our enemies. Yet we
have too often not made the hard choices that love requires. Show us how to
walk in your path of faithfulness, hope, and love. Amen.

Please share prayers and blessings, joys and sorrows

Now we join in
saying the prayer Jesus taught for all those who would follow in his way of
radical compassion, courage, conscience, and commitment.Our Father who
art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on
earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our
trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into
temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power,
and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Communion

Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Last Advent in Prison: A Poem of Hope

Prayer: O God, in the loving and
liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather at this welcoming table open to all,
remembering how Jesus gathered people from all the walks of life, stranger and
friend and enemies, gave thanks to you, offered all the bread of life and the
cup of blessing and proclaimed a covenant of love for all in your name. We
remember too the wonder of his life, as we remember the wonder of all of
Creation given unto us and how all are One. We remember the agony of his death,
and all the terrors and the tyrannies that oppress people today. And we
remember the power of resurrection, the mystery of faith in the everlasting
Spirit, the triumph over fear. Help us to remember to practice resurrection
everyday, as we remember all those who have given Love the ultimate trust and
the last word and who have worked to create the beloved community of renewed
and abundant life. Help us to remember with this meal especially all those who
are hungry, and may we treat all our meals as sacred and to be shared. Take us,
bless us, so that even in and with our brokenness we may serve others. Amen.Jesus said I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave
me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me.
I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. And they
said, Lord, when did we do
this? And he said, You did this for me when you did it
for the least of these. Here is the bread of life, food for the spirit. Let all who hunger come and eat. Here is the fruit
of the vine pressed and poured out for us. Let all who thirst now come and drink. We come to make
peace. We come to be restored
in the love of God. We come to be made new as an
instrument of that love. All
are worthy. All are welcome.

Let us Break
Bread Together on our knees, let us break bread together on our knees when I
fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun o Lord have mercy on me Let us
drink wine together on our knees let us drink wine together on our knees when I
fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun o Lord have mercy on me let us
praise God together on our knees let us praise God together on our knees when I
fall on my knees with my face to the rising sun O Lord have mercy on me.

Passing the Plate and Cup of Communion

1.We’re gonna sit
at the welcome table, we’re gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days
halleluia We’re gonna sit at the welcome table, gonna sit at the welcome table
one of these days 2.All kinds of people round that table, all kinds of people
round that table one of these days halleluia, all kinds of people around that
table, gonna sit at the welcome table one of these days 3.No fancy style at the
welcome table, no fancy style at the welcome table one of these days halleluia,
no fancy style at the welcome table, gonna sit at the welcome table one of
these days.

BenedictionLet us go out
into the highways and byways. Let us give the people something of our new
vision. We may possess a small light, but may we uncover it, and let it shine.
May we use it to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of
men and women. May we give them not hell but hope and courage. May we preach
and practice the kindness and everlasting love of God. Amen

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Hi and thanks to all for your interest and presence with us
this past year. We just finished hosting another wonderful group from Leadership
Tulsa today on a tour of the northside, so much to say and talk about in so
short a time, and so I come away wishing that everyone could walk with us
through the year, the ups and downs, the detours and deadends and surprising
openings that mark our journey each year. This letter might fall in the category
of Things I Kept Thinking About....I hope you will also read it and consider
ways to give to us at the end of the year after you hear about what a year it
has been in so many different ways.

2011 has been a phenomenal year when things kept
getting worse, and things kept getting better, side by side. It has
been a year in this regard unlike any before in our own history here, and
perhaps in our community's.

We began the year by purchasing the abandoned church building
that had been a central fixture for years in this community but had been
foreclosed and empty for years, a symbol of so many vacant and abandoned and
rundown structures here. We were able to buy it thanks to equity we had from a
few months before, with your help, buying the city block of abandoned homes
where we have put in our still emerging and blossoming KitchenGardenPark and
Orchard on North Johnstown Ave. Along with a grant from the Zarrow Foundation,
we were able to buy this old building and start reusing it even before
renovating it. Thanks to a grant from the Flint Family Foundation we have been
able to settle in to the building better and keep up our outreach and services
and grow them.

Right away though we had the great winter
blizzard that shut down the community for weeks and kept us from moving
in for about a week, and which opened up more problems with the roof to go along
with the major vandalism attack that had hit the building for the first time in
its long 90 year history. But as soon as we were able to move in, we held a
Community Art Event where area residents were able to help us
clean and paint art and brighten up the building on the outside. During this
same time though we lost our community health clinic from OU
which had closed their others in north Tulsa the previous year. It would herald
a year of increased abandonment in this area where so much community wise had
closed.

We held community organizing events with OU on several issues
facing our community, and worked more on the community health worker
proposal that would help take primary care out of the clinic and into
the neighborhoods themselves in revolutionary new ways of growing health that
lasts. We are looking forward to more service learning projects with OU Social
Work as 2012 begins and will be reporting on it.

In the Spring we got word that our post office, which
we had had for as long as there had been a community here more than 100 years,
was scheduled to be closed. After organizing petitiions, after working
to actually get the story out in the public, the post office was still closed.
We are hoping to find some place in the community now, though, that would like
to work with us to host a possible Village Post Office to replace what we lost.
This area where people have the least resources to be able to get to other
alternatives to the post office is the place where they close; it is a symbol of
the way values of the powerful reinforce convenience for the privileged over
comfort for the afflicted.

At the same time we also got the report that the
former Turley School, now Cherokee School, was scheduled to be closed;
we worked on getting information out to residents, and coming up with
alternatives, but the school was closed, and the communities suffer from not
having a major place like school where community and residents can intersect.
And we are likely to see more schools closing, possibly with charter schools
placed as possible alternatives in Greeley but not Cherokee, which is better
than having it closed too like Cherokee was, but we still have the major
building in the heart of the community at Cherokee being vacant. We are working
with OU and others to try to dream up possible new community friendly uses. Our
children go to an increasingly different number of schools so far away from our
community these days that this continues to be a difficulty in making the
connections for community here where there are so few avenues available to do
that.

Speaking of Cherokee, we have lighted up the archway
and Christmas tree at Cherokee School even though it is closed so it
will not be darkened this holiday season. And we have lighted up the community
center building so our area will have a few public and commercial buildings with
decorations showing spirit and a source of light in this time of darkness, when
almost no other buildings for miles along North Peoria have any decorations for
the public and our community again this year; part of the problem that comes
when people who own the businesses or run the places don't live here. I know
that most people in Tulsa will never see these few little holiday decorations
and night lights, but I believe, in the spirit of Charlie Brown's Christmas
Tree, that they signify more meaning about the reason of the season than all the
glitz in other areas of the city and suburbs. We are going to do the same at the
Welcome To Turley signs as we head toward the beginning of Christmas. It is part
of our mission to make the community look better even before we spend on
ourselves. And we are working with the Cherokee School reunion committee; and we
are part of a major community food policy grant proposal that if it is received
we might be able to lobby for some of its use in our area.

During the summer even after the school closing, and all the
grief it caused, we managed to get the school to stay open throughout the summer
so we could hold the Summer Cafe daily free lunch program for
all under eighteen years old, and we stayed open longer than any other site and
served more because of it. Our summer was hit hard by two natural events though,
the long record setting drought and heat wave and the
wildfires. We were able though because we had bought the center
building to be able to open it up as the first response shelter for all the
evacuues; just as we had used it as a tornado shelter in the Spring storms. Out
of that experience came our renewed Turley leadership planning group that is
concentrating on disaster response and deep issues. One of our
residents was killed at night because of the lack of street lights and that we
have no sidewalks along our major street, also a state highway, that people have
to use to get to and from walking to the store or other businesses; including
those in wheelchairs who have to use the highway lanes. This group is planning
ways to build up the infrastructure needs of our area and are working again on
plans to incorporate our own citizens and a city of Turley, or at least to find
out if people will go for it. Our summer was also marked by a week of service
where we hosted a church group from Wildflower Church in Austin, Texas who
helped us during all this keep up our spirits and make plateau changers in some
of our community sites. And at the end of the summer we were partners with OU on
community health research that we hope will help us to grow more connections and
the health worker plan; we are now helping with research on healthy food with
the Indian Health Care Resource Center.

Even in the heat wave, we were able to win our
community orchard and organize a major volunteer effort to plant forty
fruit trees during the hottest day of the year. Seeing the growth of the garden
and orchard has been a major accomplishment of the year; our fall harvest helped
feed our neighbors and bring them together and we have so much more to do as we
move forward expanding and turning it into an outdoors third place. We also
helped spur on the county's commitment to removing many of our abandoned
and rundown houses; this is an ongoing concern and project and we still
have so many dangerous commercial and residential buildings that are left to
waste. This year we also got the Federal Home Loan Bank grant
that has helped us to turn the old abandoned homes into our GardenPark; it is a
great example of putting all three legs of the stool into collaboration to make
a huge difference in an underserved area; we used government through OU students
who helped us prepare and envision it; private business through Freedom Bank and
the home loan grant program; and ourselves as a nonprofit and help from grant
writers at the government US Dept of Agriculture Tallgrass Resource and
Conservation District to all work together to bring it about.

This Fall we have been picking up the pieces from the
losses, helping Greeley School transform for the new students and staff
and faculty, helping to renew the advisory board at O'Brien Park, and
helping out with the continued growth of the McLain Foundation and the big event
of the Taste of North Tulsa promoting healthy food and lives; and yet, in the
midst of it have had to suffer our own personal losses due to the unexpected
deaths of two of our own board members, Gwen Goff and Linda Taylor, and our
major partner in food justice Steve Eberle. These emotional losses tempt us to
turn toward our own selves and needs though we know to honor their legacies we
need to continue their work making the world right outside our doors a better,
safer place. Our new board members, Deb Carroll who has taken on the renewal of
our food pantry justice and sustainability center, and Elaine McDondle of
Sarah's Residential Living Center by McLain High School, and Demalda Newsome of
the North Tulsa Farmers Market, all are giving us renewed hope and spirit as we
begin to enter a new year. There is still a good buzz of wonder and hope from
our sponsored community Halloween Festival that drew 300
people; and from our smaller but significant Thanksgiving turkey dinner
giveaways and our Thanksgiving community meal.

By the way we just received today our 125 vouchers to
distribute to 125 families in our area to be able to take big boxes of food at
our Major Food Giveaway on Friday, Jan. 13 from the Mobile Food
Van of the Community Food Bank. And we don't just give out food; but we teach
about healthy food, give out recipes, connect people with community gardens, and
with all of our community events throughout the week, and recovery groups on the
weekend.

We end up the year with our Christmas Community Party
on Tuesday Dec. 20 from 6 to 8 pm. Come sing with us, have refreshments
with us, play games with us, get face painted, watch Christmas videos, and get
to know each other better as we dream and make those dreams real in ways that
continue to amaze all of us.

I wish I had been able to tell all this to the
Leadership Tulsa guests today. I would have told them better
what a remarkable gift it is to be able to live here with those who are
struggling but still find ways to give of their strengths and spirit, of the new
dreams many have, how just staying here and alive and dreaming is a sign that
another world is possible; last night several of us in the community watched the
movie Joyeux Noel about how peace broke out and friendships were made and worlds
changed on the battlefields of France during World War One on Christmas Eve;
they paid a price for creating, for a moment, that different world, but it was
one that changed their lives forever, and can still today for us. I should have
mentioned more to the group about the growing possibilities and community
involvement with the Vann Green Park Industrial Area here, along with our unique
setting of hill and bottomland so close to downtown. And I should have said more
about how issues of racial justice, reconciliation, ethnic diversity, both still
challenge us, and are a blessing to us here as we find ways to deepen our lives
together across barriers; living next to one another, serving together with one
another, linking and empowering the poor regardless of ethnicity, is all an
opportunity we get to have that others may want to do but have to go out of
their way to do. More on that as we move toward our participation again with the
Martin Luther King Jr. celebrations.

But more of all of that in the new year. It will be for us a
Year of Celebrations, when we take time to mark and thank and renew all the
partnerships and people that have helped us get to where we are, whom made 2011
a little bit easier and a little bit more bearable for us, as we seek to make it
so for our neighbors. A Year When We Go Deeper. Stay tuned.

And if you are still here with me at this point, let me ask
you to help us enter 2012 on an amazing, surprising, gifted note. We
need your End of the Year tax deductible contribution. You can make it
easily and safely online at www.turleyok.blogspot.com, or can mail a check to
A Third Place Community Foundation at The Welcome Table Center, 5920 N. Owasso
Ave., Turley. OK 74126. Everyone of the things I have written about above will
still be projects, are still in need of support; including things I didn't
mention like how we are a warming station now as we were a cooling station this
summer, how we are still building up our free internet center for those here
without, how we need more money for our food pantry purchases, for our
gardenpark, for new signs to let the world know what we have going on, for the
transformation of our remaining building into a community room, for new shelves
for the clothing room, for bathroom renovations, for some part time staff to
keep the center open and growing a few more hours a day, and for a new website
presence. These are all the "uncool" things that make possible the
transformational things mentioned above.

So, thank you for all you have done, even the important work
of spreading the word about us; and as we tell one another here, we are all,
regardless of our circumstances, blessed in special ways, with something we each
can give. We love to be able to offer to one another here the opportunities to
give of our selves in so many ways; we love to be able to extend that
opportunity to you too as we end out this incredible year.

More will be coming about special spiritual offerings and
reflections to end out the year and to begin the new year, about Christmas and
holiday worships from the missional community side of things. But, for those of
you who would like to get and share more about our project side of things
through the foundation, I am also attaching a large zip of materials that will
help you to go deeper into our being here, and we hope you will share it too
with others who might not know about this best kept secret and new ancient way
of community development.

In the spirit of the One who sends us to serve, who refreshes
us so we may bring comfort to others, who seeks for us to make visible those
values that are everlasting, know you are a gift, for which we here are so
thankful...

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Following the radical Jesus in deeds not creeds. We are a church primarily as we are in service to our community throughout the week. Our Welcome Table of Worship gatherings are another way we become church. All of our activities and worship are open to all who welcome all, regardless of belief or denomination, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical abilities, economic status, or political affiliations. We don’t think Jesus would have it any other way.

Free because we are non-creedal. We don’t give theological tests for admission, but encourage you to test us and try us to see if this way is for you. Universalist because we believe God is Love and All who abide in Love abide in God for all time (1 John 4:16). Christian because the generous compassionate way and story of Jesus, while not exclusively so, is our primary pathway opening up to God. Missional because we are sent to serve others more than ourselves. Community because we are made not to be autonomous individuals but to be a people of God.

Invocation

Today is the day which God has made: Let us rejoice and be glad therein. What does the Eternal require of us? To live justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

Chalice Lighting Covenant

This is our covenant as we walk together in life as a people of God striving to make Jesus visible in the world: In the light of truth, and the loving and liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather in freedom, to worship God, and serve all.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet you As the day rises to meet the sun.

Third Sunday of Advent: Love Candle

Scripture:

1 Thessalonians 5:14-21

And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them.15See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.

16Rejoice always,17pray without ceasing,18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.19Do not quench the Spirit.20Do not despise the words of prophets,21but test everything; hold fast to what is good;

Isaiah 61: 1-4

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners;2to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;3to provide for those who mourn in Zion— to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit. They will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.

4They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.

Lighting The Advent Candle For Love

One: We have lighted two candles---for peace, and for joy. Today we light the third candle—the candle of love. With this flame we signify the love of God that surrounds and fills us at all times, but that we recognize in a special way in the Christmas story. There is no greater power than love. It is stronger than rulers and empires, stronger than grief or despair, stronger even than death. All in God’s love for all.

All: Loving God, we open ourselves to you this Christmas season. As these candles are lit, light up our lives with your imagination. Teach us the peace that comes from justice. Fill us with the kind of joy that cannot be contained, but must be shared. Magnify your love within us. Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you, That we may walk in the light of Christ. Amen.

Morning Songs: #95, There Is More Love; #131 Love Will Guide Us; #121 We’ll Build A Land; Hymn For Advent: #241, In The Bleak Mid-Winter

Sharing Prayers

Now we join in saying the prayer Jesus taught for all those who would follow in his way of radical compassion, courage, conscience, and commitment.

Our Father who art in heaven hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Communion

Prayer: O God, in the loving and liberating spirit of Jesus, we gather at this welcoming table open to all, remembering how Jesus gathered people from all the walks of life, stranger and friend and enemies, gave thanks to you, offered all the bread of life and the cup of blessing and proclaimed a covenant of love for all in your name. We remember too the wonder of his life, as we remember the wonder of all of Creation given unto us and how all are One. We remember the agony of his death, and all the terrors and the tyrannies that oppress people today. And we remember the power of resurrection, the mystery of faith in the everlasting Spirit, the triumph over fear. Help us to remember to practice resurrection everyday, as we remember all those who have given Love the ultimate trust and the last word and who have worked to create the beloved community of renewed and abundant life. Help us to remember with this meal especially all those who are hungry, and may we treat all our meals as sacred and to be shared. Take us, bless us, so that even in and with our brokenness we may serve others. Amen.

Jesus said I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. And they said, Lord, when did we do this? And he said, You did this for me when you did it for the least of these. Here is the bread of life, food for the spirit. Let all who hunger come and eat. Here is the fruit of the vine pressed and poured out for us. Let all who thirst now come and drink. We come to make peace. We come to be restored in the love of God. We come to be made new as an instrument of that love.

#406, Let us Break Bread Together on our knees

Passing the Plate and Cup of Communion

#407 “We’re Gonna Sit At the Welcome Table”

Benediction

Let us go out into the highways and byways. Let us give the people something of our new vision. We may possess a small light, but may we uncover it, and let it shine. May we use it to bring more light and understanding to the hearts and minds of men and women. May we give them not hell but hope and courage. May we preach and practice the kindness and everlasting love of God. Amen

“Go Now in Peace, Go Now in Peace, May the Love of God surround you, everywhere, everywhere, you may go.

For more on our community and way, www.progressivechurchplanting.blogspot.com www.missionalprogressives.blogspot.com, www.turleyok.blogspot.com, www.uuchristian.org, www.tcpc.org, www.uua.org, www.ccda.org, www.christianuniversalist.org